I ran into a designer friend at the Philadelphia Airport today on my way back home from a project. He suggested that it would make a good blog post to talk about three things designers and photo buyers should know before hiring a photographer. I sketched out a few ideas on my drink napkin.

1.) Pre Qualify: Have a solid idea of your photography project. Will it require a skilled photography technician? Are people skills a requirement? Are you looking for specific style? Or a more generic approach? Are you looking for a photographer that has “big production” experience or some one who can shoot on the fly? Pre Qualifying the photographer is essential before you start your search. Are you looking for someone with years of experience or an emerging artist? Have they worked on similar projects? What about similar clients? If you are comparing photographers are you comparing apples to apples?
2.) Scope: Know the specific requirements for the project? In my practice we price photography based on the projects scope. We consider how the image(s) will be used, in what media, for how long and in what region. All photographs are licensed using these basic elements. The value of the Projects license is one key component to price. The others may include the number of setups, the amount of time involved and the number of finished images to be delivered. Any change to the projects scope can impact the price dramatically.
3.) Production Responsibility: Knowing prior to contacting a photographer, what aspects of the project you want them to be responsible for is critical. We break down the key components to the Pre Production, Shooting and Post Production stages. Are the locations provided? Or will the photographer have to find them? What about permits? What about the subject(s) or talent? Will stylists be required? Will the project require extensive retouching? What about travel? We have some clients who take care of all aspects of production and others that hire my practice to take care of production services at reasonable fees. It really depends on the project. I am a big believer in getting the photography team involved at the earliest stage possible in a project. Not only does it help with communication and understanding of your goals and strategy, but often time results in solutions to problems that can be avoided and in many cases saves money or other resources.

By the time I get a call and a request for proposal (RFP), I expect that my client or their client has done this homework. I also assume that I am being considered for the project because of my previous experience, my portfolio of images and for my professional services.

My first query to clients is their budget. If you do the prequalification process effectively, we should be well matched for your project and your budget. If this is the case, let’s cut to the chase. Your budget and scope should be in alignment, otherwise something has to give, and most photographers are pretty good at realigning a scope and budget and still delivering a quality project.

The key is to be realistic on your scope and budget. To communicate with all the stakeholders throughout the process and to respect each other’s business practices in a professional manner. Your grandmothers Golden Rule applies here treat other professionals, as you want to be treated.